Hospital search for Lynne Spalding was delayed

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi revealed more details Wednesday about the woman that went missing at San Francisco General Hospital. Lynne Spalding disappeared from her room at SF General on Sept. 21 and was found dead in a hospital stairwell on Oct. 8.

Wednesday, Mirkarimi admitted only half of the stairwells were searched when looking for Spalding. He also said the search was hampered by understaffing, an antiquated dispatch system and unreliable video cameras.

Mirkarimi says the sheriff's department is working on fixing those issues.

"We have issued two new IPU policies," Mirkarimi said. "The first mandates daily patrol of the fire stairwells. This has not been delineated ever in the past."

Mirkarimi also revealed that the hospital initially reported Spalding as a missing African American woman, and later identified her as Asian in a log book. She was Caucasian.

Wednesday afternoon, the hospital issued a statement saying in part, "It must be so difficult for Lynne Spalding's family and friends to hear today's news. We owe it to them, and to all our current and future patients, to strengthen our security services."